AFI Releases New Monographs

The new 2004 monograph series has arrived at AFI!

Monograph Five - Futures in Education

Gidley, Bateman and Smith

Futures in education provide young people with essential motivation and a range of proactive skills. This monograph examines how equipping young people with the tools and concepts of futures creates the opportunity for a futures discourse as it is this discourse which underpins a society-wide capacity for foresight. Jennifer Gidley has reviewed what is already known about futures in education. Together with the most complete bibliography of works on this topic, she draws on examples and research from many countries, provides new insights and asks vital questions for further work. Debra Bateman and Caroline Smith survey what is actually happening in Australian schools in regard to teaching futures and incorporating it into the school curriculum. The two contributions in this monograph provide a fresh basis on which to reconsider the value and potential of this vital, yet all too often overlooked, area.

Monograph Six - The Transformative Cycle

Slaughter, Naismith and Houghton

Theories of change inform the development of a foresight capability based on reflexive understanding of the dialectical movement between context, theory and practice. This monograph illustrates the development of a concept into a tool, which is then developed as a meta-theory of change. Methodological renewal in Futures Studies is the cornerstone of the discipline’s continued growth and development. The re-invigoration of Slaughter’s Transformative Cycle (T-Cycle) exemplifies this. Richard Slaughter introduces his original concept and tool, with an updated conclusion based on nearly twenty years of reflection. Luke Naismith takes the T-Cycle and applies it to a number of topics, followed by a comparison with other theories of change through which synergies and distinctions emerge. Finally, Neil Houghton relates the T-Cycle to complexity theory, transdisciplinary and meta-theories of change. The three pieces illustrate the utility of a tool which can assist in the analysis of change at an individual, organisational, societal or global level.


Prices (without postage):
Individual monographs - $19.95 (incl. GST)
2003 Series (Monographs 1-4) $69.95 (incl. GST)
2003/2004 Series (Monographs 1-6) $104.95 (incl. GST)

Please visit AFI website for order forms: www.swin.edu.au/afi/Publications.htm